Foster won’t play through lingering calf injury

Posted by Mike Florio on July 27, 2013, 2:27 PM EST

AP

After Texans running back Arian Foster injured a calf muscle during offseason workouts, he attributed the coverage of the situation to the slow time in the news cycle — and he said he’d “more than likely” be ready for camp.

It’s no longer the slow time, but Foster still isn’t practicing. So it’s becoming a more significant story.

On Saturday, Foster ensured it will be a story until the muscle heals.

“Sometimes muscle injuries can linger,” Foster said, via quotes distributed by the team. “You can’t play through it. It’s not like playing through a broken collarbone. I have played through a lot of things, but this is just something you can’t and there’s no reason to right now. I’m just going to take my time and when I feel 100 percent confident, I’ll be ready.”

He said that he still has “light soreness” in the leg, but that he “can do pretty much everything, so I’m just going to take it day-by-day.”

Strained leg muscles need time to heal, or they’ll easily become strained again. And anyone who has tried to accelerate with a strained calf knows that: (1) it’s impossible; and (2) it will only make it worse.

So Foster will rest. And when he’s 100 percent, he’ll most likely still be the guy that he has been for the past three seasons.